The "sun room" area in the basement is really pretty and gets lots of natural light.

It also looks great with rattan furniture.

However - no one ever used this area.

It was filled with older, abused furniture and did not really serve any purpose.

We decided to remove the furniture and get a Pub Table & Chairs for this area for family games.

But first, we had to get rid of some furniture.

The leather chair was thoroughly "worn" by the boys. Comfy, yes, but marked up and (as it turned out) ripped it two places.

The glider was broken and marked up too. It was sad to see it go - I remember purchasing it with David in Memphis when we were expecting Thomas. I was happy to think that it'll be fixed up and a new mom will get to enjoy it now.

We also gave away a tall floor lamp that you see in some of the before photos. It hadn't been used in years.

After much research, David and I chose a pub set from overstock.com (my first purchase from them - great selection & prices and $2.95 shipping!). We like to mix wood tones and really liked this table with comfortable chairs (key).

David and the boys put the set together and did a great job.

I put myself in charge of plants - we have some beautiful pots from Mexico and hand-made rolling carts to sit them on. These carts had been in the attic for 8 years just waiting for a use.

(sorry for the bright lights - it was a sunny day!)

And we love the new pub set! I like the height, the interesting chairs (with padding!) and the pretty table. We plan to get a lot of use from this set!

View from the back wall. Removing the chair and rearranging the love seat and couch really opened up the family room area. That side table by the stove is not staying there :)﻿

I'm really happy that we turned this area into a more useful, comfortable space.

before and after

And that was Phase 3!

Next up, lots of other decisions to make.

Maybe finding some colorful art to hang on the wall below the lights.

Going to ArtFest downtown this weekend to look around.

We're thinking about family photos for the other side of the stairs.

I picked up these frames at Kohl's for a great deal the other day. I've ordered some photos so will wait to see if they work.﻿

And this other end of the room.

This is the before.

And now.

It's certainly looking better, but we are trying to decide what we want to do here.